1958 United States elections

Summary

The 1958 United States elections were held on November 4, 1958, and elected members of the 86th United States Congress. The election took place in the middle of Republican President Dwight D. Eisenhower's second term. Eisenhower's party suffered large losses. They lost 48 seats to the Democratic Party in the House of Representatives, and also lost thirteen seats in the U.S. Senate to the Democrats.[2] This marked the first time that the six-year itch phenomenon occurred during a Republican presidency since Ulysses S. Grant's second term in 1874. Alaska and Hawaii were admitted as states during the 86th Congress.

1958 United States elections
1956          1957          1958          1959          1960
Midterm elections
Election dayNovember 4
Incumbent presidentDwight D. Eisenhower (Republican)
Next Congress86th
Senate elections
Overall controlDemocratic hold
Seats contested36 of 98 seats
(32 Class 1 seats + 2 special elections + 2 elections for Alaska)
Net seat changeDemocratic +15[1]
1958 United States Senate special election in North Carolina1958 United States Senate elections in Alaska#Class 31958 United States Senate elections in Alaska#Class 21958 United States Senate special election in West Virginia1958 United States Senate election in Arizona1958 United States Senate election in California1958 United States Senate election in Connecticut1958 United States Senate election in Delaware1958 United States Senate election in Florida1958 United States Senate election in Indiana1958 United States Senate election in Maine1958 United States Senate election in Maryland1958 United States Senate election in Massachusetts1958 United States Senate election in Michigan1958 United States Senate election in Minnesota1958 United States Senate election in Mississippi1958 United States Senate election in Missouri1958 United States Senate election in Montana1958 United States Senate election in Nebraska1958 United States Senate election in Nevada1958 United States Senate election in New Jersey1958 United States Senate election in New Mexico1958 United States Senate election in New York1958 United States Senate election in North Dakota1958 United States Senate election in Ohio1958 United States Senate election in Pennsylvania1958 United States Senate election in Rhode Island1958 United States Senate election in Tennessee1958 United States Senate election in Texas1958 United States Senate election in Utah1958 United States Senate election in Vermont1958 United States Senate election in Virginia1958 United States Senate election in Washington1958 United States Senate election in West Virginia1958 United States Senate election in Wisconsin1958 United States Senate election in Wyoming
1958 Senate election results

  Democratic gain   Democratic hold

  Republican hold
House elections
Overall controlDemocratic hold
Seats contestedAll 437 voting seats
Popular vote marginDemocratic +12.4%
Net seat changeDemocratic +49
Gubernatorial elections
Seats contested34
Net seat changeDemocratic +6
1958 North Dakota gubernatorial election1958 Alabama gubernatorial election1958 Alaska gubernatorial election1958 Arizona gubernatorial election1958 Arkansas gubernatorial election1958 California gubernatorial election1958 Colorado gubernatorial election1958 Connecticut gubernatorial election1958 Georgia gubernatorial election1958 Idaho gubernatorial election1958 Iowa gubernatorial election1958 Kansas gubernatorial election1958 Maine gubernatorial election1958 Maryland gubernatorial election1958 Massachusetts gubernatorial election1958 Michigan gubernatorial election1958 Minnesota gubernatorial election1958 Nebraska gubernatorial election1958 Nevada gubernatorial election1958 New Hampshire gubernatorial election1958 New Mexico gubernatorial election1958 New York gubernatorial election1958 Ohio gubernatorial election1958 Oklahoma gubernatorial election1958 Oregon gubernatorial election1958 Pennsylvania gubernatorial election1958 Rhode Island gubernatorial election1958 South Carolina gubernatorial election1958 South Dakota gubernatorial election1958 Tennessee gubernatorial election1958 Texas gubernatorial election1958 Vermont gubernatorial election1958 Wisconsin gubernatorial election1958 Wyoming gubernatorial election
1958 gubernatorial election results

  Democratic gain   Democratic hold

  Republican gain   Republican hold

The ranks of liberal Democrats swelled as the Republican Party suffered several losses in the Northeast and the West. The election contributed to a weakening of the conservative coalition and those opposed to the civil rights movement, allowing for the eventual passage of the Great Society and the Civil Rights Act of 1964.[3] The election saw an influx of northern Democrats who sought to reform the Congressional seniority system, which often gave the best positions to senior southerners who rarely faced difficult re-elections and thus were able to rack up long terms of service.[4]

See also edit

References edit

  1. ^ Democrats picked up 12 seats in the regularly-scheduled elections, and picked up an additional three seats in the special elections.
  2. ^ "Statistics of the Congressional Election of November 4, 1958" (PDF). U.S. House of Reps, Office of the Clerk. Retrieved 27 December 2011.
  3. ^ Busch, Andrew (1999). Horses in Midstream. University of Pittsburgh Press. pp. 94–100.
  4. ^ Sinclair, Barbara (2006). Party Wars. University of Oklahoma Press. pp. 187–188. ISBN 9780806137797.